Remove Trump From Iowa Ballots

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Paul Deaton

Some days I wish the 45th President would settle into retirement and fade away. That doesn’t seem likely. There is, however, a strong case that Trump is disqualified from being on the ballot because of his engagement in the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. Dean Obeidallah presents a case for action in a recent substack post.

Last week, two prominent conservative scholars, William Baude of the University of Chicago and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the University of St Thomas, made a compelling case that Trump is disqualified from holding office in article published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. And just a few days ago, conservative former federal court of appeals judge J. Michael Luttig and famed Harvard Law constitutional professor Laurence Tribe penned an article for The Atlantic titled, “The Constitution Prohibits Trump From Ever Being President Again.” These two distinguished jurists reached the same conclusion that Trump had “engaged in insurrection” and is barred from ever serving in federal office again by way of the US Constitution.

I filed a complaint to disqualify Trump from the ballot and so should you! by Dean Obeidallah, Aug. 23, 2023.

Read Obeidallah’s full article here. Then consider copying and pasting the following email to Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate at sos@sos.iowa.gov. Feel free to edit the email to meet your needs. If you do send the email, I expect your will feel better.

Dear Secretary of State Pate,

I’m writing to your offices urging a formal review of whether Donald Trump is barred from the ballot in Iowa by way of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That Amendment disqualifies from the ballot any person who “shall have engaged” in an “insurrection.”  For such a disqualification, there is no requirement that Trump or any person be first convicted of any crime—as the Congressional Research Service notes.

In addition, last year after a trial in New Mexico, a judge ruled that Jan 6 was an “insurrection” within the meaning of the 14th Amendment and that Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin was removed from office and disqualified from the ballot for “engaging” in that attack.  Donald Trump’s actions– as detailed in the final report of the “Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack”—far exceed the actions of Griffin in terms of “engaging” in the Jan 6 insurrection.  While that New Mexico ruling is not binding in this state, it is persuasive in its reasoning and I urge your offices to read it.

Finally, conservative legal scholars have recently penned articles reaching the conclusion that given Trump’s conduct, the US Constitution does in fact bar Trump from the ballot.

As the US Constitution mandates, no one should be permitted to be on the ballot who has engaged in an insurrection. The time to review if Trump has done just that and is barred from the ballot is now—well before the 2024 election.

Thank you for considering this issue that is vitally important to protecting our Republic.

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Iowa House Democrats Info Center

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Paul Deaton

After the Aug. 17, 2023 town hall meeting in Shueyville, State Representative Amy Nielsen provided the following information to help stay current with what the Iowa House Democrats are doing:

Official Legislative Website and Subscribe to Newsletter: 

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/ 

Website: 

https://iowahouse.org/

Blue Statehouse Alert Email Alerts (Weekly during session, Monthly during interim): 

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-for-the-blue-statehouse-alert

People Over Politics Newsletter by Leader Jennifer Konfrst: 

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-for-the-people-over-politics-newsletter

Iowa House + Labor Connection: 

https://actionnetwork.org/campaigns/iowa-house-labor-connections

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/iowahousedemocrats/

Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/iowahousedems/

Twitter: 

https://twitter.com/iowahousedems

TikTok: 

https://www.tiktok.com/@iowahousedemocrats

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Live Blogging The End Times

Posted on August 29, 2023 by Paul Deaton
Water levels at Lake Macbride declining because of extended drought. Photo by the author. August 2023.

The climate crisis remains with us. A series of news articles reported stresses on Earth to which climate change contributed or caused: Canadian wildfires, heated ocean temperatures off the coast of Florida, the failure of a generation of Emperor Penguin fledglings to survive because of melting sea ice, Hurricane Hilary in California, Maui wildfires, and others come across our news feeds like we are live blogging the end times. Climate change made each of these disasters worse. These stories are likely the tip of the iceberg.

I don’t need a news feed to know our community is at risk due to climate change. Our subdivision is conserving water on our public well because the Silurian Aquifer is faltering with increased usage. A deep and extended drought, combined with a lack of rainfall means surface waters have not been able to recharge the aquifer to keep up with water demand. I don’t mind conserving water. There is not an endless supply. It’s worse when generational expectations are not met.

Local environmental activists continue to remind us there is a climate crisis and the time for action to mitigate its worst effects is now. It will take all of us to address the climate crisis, especially our elected officials.

Here’s the rub. People enjoy our current life in society so much we don’t want to change it, even when inconvenienced by the impact of the climate crisis. Even when the inconvenience takes the form of the current extended drought and we don’t have access to the same amount of water coming from our faucet we did a few months ago.

In his 2017 book, Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist and other Essays, Paul Kingsnorth captured this notion:

For most of my twenties, I had put a lot of my energy into environmental activism, because I thought that activism could save, or at least change the world. By 2008 I had stopped believing this. Now I felt that resistance was futile, at least on the grand, global scale on which I’d always assumed it would occur. I knew what was already up in the atmosphere and in the oceans, working its way through the mysterious connections of the living Earth, beginning to change everything. I saw that the momentum of the human machine — all its cogs and wheels, its production and consumption, the way it turned nature into money and called the process growth — was not going to be turned around now. Most people didn’t want it to be, they were enjoying it.

Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist and other Essays, Paul Kingsnorth.

Kirkpatrick Sale lays bare the connection between climate and society in a recent issue of Counterpunch, “All the talk about ‘climate change’ directs the world’s attention away from what is the real central problem: the effect of unmitigated capitalist growth ravaging the resources and systems of the earth and its atmosphere.”

They both make a point.

I can’t recall how many times I heard Al Gore mention the pollution we dump into the atmosphere. “Every day we’re continuing to pump 162 million tons of global warming pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, into the atmosphere, as if the atmosphere was an open sewer,” Gore said everywhere during the last ten years. While some of this is caused naturally, most of it is a result of humans, that is, the unmitigated capitalist growth and exploitation of resources and systems Sale mentioned.

I joined the Climate Reality Project in August 2013 in Chicago. Gore’s training came at a time I needed it. I had just retired from my big job in 2009, and had seen the film, An Inconvenient Truth. I intended to work on climate change during my retirement years. Gore explained the impact of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere and oceans in clear, concise terms. The training was more than useful. There are now 50,000 trained climate activists like me. It may not be enough.

The issue mostly omitted during discussion of climate change is how it permeates everything in society. In Iowa there is no going back to the way the land and water was before the Black Hawk War in 1832. The environment has been completely re-worked to accommodate what is now conventional farming. We take what has become known as industrial agriculture for granted.

Are we living in the end times? I don’t know, and don’t believe we can know. What is known is there are solutions to the climate crisis if only we would apply them to the problem. This can be done without major disruption to our way of life.

If you are interested in a just and sustainable future that addresses the climate crisis, visit The Climate Reality Project at this website.

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What Should We Fear?

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Paul Deaton
B-61 Nuclear Bombs

The United States is a country where we constantly balance security and liberty. During my youth, we were taught to believe that a large nuclear weapons arsenal, with a triad of land-based missiles, aircraft-dropped gravity bombs, and submarines would deter the Soviet Union from attacking us. When the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 happened, we shifted to a concern that a small group of terrorists had brought havoc on the country by bombing three locations with hijacked aircraft and could do it again. We subsequently gave unprecedented authority to the President to manage our security.

While it seems unlikely that one of the nuclear armed states would initiate an attack with nuclear weapons in the sort term future, the reality of ease a terrorist group has of constructing a single nuclear weapon with fissile materials collected from across the globe is as present as ever. Osama Bin Laden notably consulted with nuclear engineers at his last residence in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Terrorists have said they would use nuclear weapons if they could get the materials to make them and likely would. In the United States, we are free as long as we defend against this possibility.

What are Iowans doing to protect us? On Monday, Aug. 21, the governor’s office issued a press release saying Governor Kim Reynolds had joined four other governors at Eagle Pass, Texas to “ban together to secure border. The typo/misspelling aside, Reynolds had serious intent:

Texas is ground zero, front and center of the border crisis,” said Governor Reynolds… “On day 1 of the Biden Administration, they reversed policies that protect the sovereignty of this country and its citizens. Iowa is located at the intersection of two major interstates, and it is a pathway for Mexican cartels and humans traffickers in the Midwest.

Governors Reynolds, Abbott, Pillen, Stitt and Noem Ban Together To Secure Border, Office of the Iowa Governor, Aug. 21, 2023.

During this brief moment of grandstanding, the Republican governors seem to have forgotten the Biden administration has been working on the causes of illegal immigration, almost since day one. Vice President Harris has been charged with determining what can be done with the governments of Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and others as people in those countries, including children and families, fled in record numbers. Migration from the region has spiked due to a web of factors, including poverty, corruption, racism, disease, natural disasters and gang violence, according to the Los Angeles Times. Governor Reynolds didn’t mention or acknowledge what the administration is doing because her trip was more about winning the 2024 election by scaring the electorate.

Let’s not forget that drug dealers won’t be stopped by improved security across the southern border. They have the resources, staffing, and technology to create innovative solutions to deliver their wares to the United States, including submersible ocean-going vessels, and aircraft that don’t touch land until they arrive in country. Republicans belied the complexity of dealing with threats from Mexico and Central America at their Eagle Pass photo opportunity. They distract us from other, more realistic threats to our security and liberty. They are going to have to do something other than point an accusing finger at the president to be credible.

Among our biggest threats to security are proliferation of assault-style weapons. There are droughts, derechos, tornadoes and heat waves made worse by climate change. The threat of terrorists securing enough fissile material to make a nuclear bomb, continues to be an issue. What about all these threats to our security? The governors did not mention them at Eagle Pass and more’s the pity. It is time to band together with fellow Democrats to ouster the governor when she is up for reelection in 2026.

In the meanwhile, to get involved with Iowa Democrats, click on this link.

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Politics Girls: This Must Stop

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Dave Bradley

JoJo from Jerz – few can wrap up so much truth in such short time (3:10)

She lays out a great case. No one can seriously say that Trump is not a criminal. As Politics Girl points out Trump was (and probably still is) involved in crimes and conspiracies to overthrow the elected government, to overturn an election and there is that matter of the top secret documents that he stole from the government on his way out the door.

As one person told me the other day. – that is not a “missing documents case” – no – it is an espionage case. Trump stole and probably has disseminated those documents. Espionage against his own country. Kind of turns the stomach, doesn’t it?

Perhaps, perhaps there is an answer to stopping this monster from seizing control of the government and ending democracy. He almost did it last time. That was just a practice run. 

Several legal eagles are looking at the 3rd clause of the 14th amendment that makes it unconstitutional for someone who engaged in an insurrection to hold office:

Section 3.

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. 

Looks pretty clear to me. Two conservative (members of the Federalist Society even – University of Chicago professor William Baude and University of St. Thomas professor Michael Stokes Paulsen) law professors have written a paper arguing that the 14th amendment is very clear and should be used to keep Donald Trump from an attempt to be president again:  

“The most politically explosive application of Section Three to the events of January 6, is at the same time the most straightforward,” Baude and Paulsen write. “Former President Donald J. Trump is constitutionally disqualified from again being President (or holding any other covered office) because of his role in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 election and the events leading to the January 6 attack.”

The consequences of this argument are astonishing. On Baude and Paulsen’s read, Section 3 is “self-executing” — meaning it does not require an act of Congress to enter force and binds those public officials in the position to act on its dictates. Basically, if a single official anywhere in the US electoral system finds their constitutional analysis compelling, Baude and Paulsen urge them to act on it.

“No official should shrink from these duties. It would be wrong — indeed, arguably itself a breach of one’s constitutional oath of office — to abandon one’s responsibilities of faithful interpretation, application, and enforcement of Section Three,” they write.

The story goes deeply into legal arguments and how the amendment would be applied to Trump. I doubt he will simply end his candidacy because of this. What many legal scholars expect is that some brave state level Secretaries of State will deny Trump be included as a candidate due to his 14th amendment status. 

That will kick off lawsuits that will have an expedited status because they are dealing with the election. These lawsuits will be brought to the SCOTUS quickly because they deal with the elections. Would the current lineup on SCOTUS agree that Trump is in violation of the insurrection clause? Right now, my guess is that Thomas and Alito would be the only votes to back Trump, but one could easily see three more.

Stay tuned. I have no doubt some state will find a way to invoke the insurrection clause of the 14th amendment. 

Let me add that it is so sad to see Iowa Republicans rallying around a guy who has pretty openly flaunted the law and any social conventions. This is a person who could care less if he hurts anyone else as long as he gets his. I had always thought Iowans had some kind of innate judgmental ability due to the reality of farm and small town life. 

Nope looks like they can easily fall for the lying salesman just as easily as anyone else. But then they fall for Kim Reynold’s schtick day after day.

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Sunday Funday: It Was 60 Years Ago Tomorrow Edition

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Dave Bradley

Joan Baez sings African American spiritual “Oh Freedom” at the March on Washington Aug. 28, 1963 to open the day’s events. (3:15):

 

Do you remember where you were during the March on Washington some 60 years ago? Probably not a lot left who are old enough to remember who either watched it on TV or actually participated. As for me I was just entering the scary teen years.  I was educated in Catholic schools. Back in those days Catholic schools were liberal schools.

That meant that as I watched on a warm August day on what we called our “back porch.” I actually thought that the country’s leader would hear what seemed to me to be rational requests for jobs and equality and agree. Then President Kennedy and the leaders of congress would make it happen. I thought it would take a couple of years.

That had to be the beginning of my disillusion with our political system. By the end of the decade I fully understood what Dick Nixon’s southern strategy meant, I understood how much a Muhammed Ali was hated, and I understood why the government cracked down on drugs. 

And today I fully understand why delusional MAGA politicians attack the teaching the history of black people in this country.

There will be some questions on that day. Warning – it will be impossible to ignore #91 today – Mr. 91 indictments, that is.

A) High rise window failure raised a few feet: Whose airplane suddenly fell out of the sky Tuesday killing all aboard ?

B) Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds, took a victory lap in what state where she sent Iowa troops to ‘fight’ early this month?

C) During the MAGA presidential candidate debate in Milwaukee Wednesday when asked if they would vote for Trump if he was the nominee what candidate did not raise his hand?

D) One landed, one crashed. Two nations sent spacecraft to the moon last week. Which one landed, which one crashed? 

E) Continuing the previous question, what valuable resource were both looking for?

F) What young leader at the March on Washington was asked to tone down his speech that other leaders saw as inflammatory?

G) Out in San Bernardino, Ca. a local shopkeeper was shot in cold blood for what perceived offense last weekend?

H) Who is or was Inmate P01135809?

I) How many people march on Washington 60 years ago?

J) Here in Iowa what school shifted classes to online Thursday and Friday and requested students leave campus as temperatures soared and the cooling system was KOed by a fire?

K) A week ago Thursday the former football coach for Nodaway Valley in Iowa was arrested on what charges?

L) In Wednesday’s MAGA presidential debate, what candidate said he would invade Mexico over fentanyl day 1?

M) Reported last week, born on July 31 at Bright’s Zoo in Tennessee what very rare type of giraffe was born?

N) Good news for the supply chain this week. What company had its contract offer approved by their main union?

O) As Trump faces legal consequences in his future he felt like it was time to dump some property. Which of his properties was reported as sold Friday and who bought it?

P) Which of Trump’s co-indictee’s in the Documents case flipped on Trump Tuesday and decided to tell the truth to Jack Smith’s grand jury?

Q) What tropical storm made landfall in Texas Tuesday as Gulf and Atlantic temperatures hit highs going into late summer?

R) Bayard Rustin was the main organizer of the March on Washington, yet his name is seldom mentioned in its connections because Rustin had 3 negatives in his history. Can you name one of the three?

S) Friday a Palm Beach, Florida attorney filed a challenge to Donald Trump as a presidential candidate on what constitutional basis?

T) Next month price negotiations between Pharma and the US government will begin on a list of drugs for Medicare selected by whom?

The Republican definition of election interference is when Democrats interfere with elections by getting more votes. Middle Age Riot

Answers:

A) Russian coup leader Yevgeny Prigozhin

B) Texas

C) Asa Hutchnson as I understand it

D) India’s landed, Russia’s crashed

E) Water in the form of ice that could enable humans to live on the moon

F) John Lewis of SNCC (later Congress member John Lewis)

G) She flew a pride flag which triggered someone to shoot her

H) Donald John Trump

I) @250,000 – huge in those days

J) Iowa State U.

K) 46 charges of sexual abuse

L) Ron DeSantis

M) A spotless giraffe – cute little 6 footer.

N) UPS

O) Mar-a-lago was reported sold to a group headed by Donald Trump, Jr. for $422 million

P) the IT guy identified as Yuscil Taveras aka “Trump employee 4″

Q) TS Harold

R) 1) he was gay 2) he had been a member of he communist party during the Red Scare 3) He was a war resistor

S) Section 3 of the 14th amendment claiming Trump took part in an insurrection against the US (man that was quick)

T) President Biden

Trump supporters are comparing Trump’s mug shot to mug shots of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela and others. No I am not kidding, they really are.

Posted in #nevertrump, Humor | Comments Off on Sunday Funday: It Was 60 Years Ago Tomorrow Edition

Climate Crisis And The MAGA Debate

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Dave Bradley

Got this great email from Robert Reich (I hope he needs no introduction here) in my inbox Thursday. I will use it to piggy back on my previous story of how a few votes and a suddenly omni-potent SCOTUS is leading to ending the regulatory agencies ability to respond to changes by limiting how they can make rules.

Friends,

I wasn’t planning to say anything more about last night’s Republican debate (minus Trump) but I can’t resist pointing to what I considered the lowest point out of many low points.

It came when the candidates fielded a pre-taped question by a young person named Alexander Diaz, who spoke about how the climate crisis is “young people’s number one issue,” and asked “How will you as both president and leader of the Republican Party calm the fear that the Republican party doesn’t care about climate change?”

Before turning the question over to the candidates, Bret Baier, one of the moderators of the debate, asked the candidates to raise their hands if they believe “human behavior is causing climate change.”

Almost immediately, Florida governer Ron DeSantis shot back: “We’re not schoolchildren, let’s have the debate.” Then, instead of talking about climate change, DeSantis lashed out at Joe Biden for his response to the deadly Maui fire. (DeSantis’s criticism was utter rubbish, of course. Biden has been very much involved in the Maui fires, with federal disaster assistance and ongoing briefings, culminating in his visit several days ago.)

{{snip}}

After DeSantis’s attempt to avoid talking about climate change last night, Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old entrepreneur who presents himself as a non-political outsider who can tell the truth, then piped up: “The climate-change agenda,” he declared, “is a hoax.”

Hello?

Donald Trump, who did not attend the debate, has done whatever he could to impede climate action. As president, he rolled back nearly 100 climate regulations, according a New York Times tally, and backed out of the Paris Accord.

Meanwhile, rightwing groups have been working with the Republican Party to boost the fossil fuel industry while undermining the energy transition. Project 2025, a $22m endeavor by the climate-denying thinktank the Heritage Foundation, has developed a presidential proposal that lays out how a Republican president could dismantle US climate policy within their first 180 days in office. The proposal was made in collaboration with several former Trump officials.

Friends, the twin crises of the climate and democracy are intertwined. Climate change threatens life on earth. But without a working democracy, there’s little we can hope to do about it. The Republican Party — with Trump in the lead, and DeSantis and others trailing behind in the GOP presidential primaries — seems dedicated to destroying both.

My bolding in the last paragraph.

You can almost hear the anguish in Mr. Reich’s voice as he seemingly screams into the darkness “Does anybody realize what is happening?”

Thank you for this wake up call, Professor!

Posted in #trumpresistance, 2024 election, Climate Action, Climate Change, Republican hypocrisy, Republican Policy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

One More Time: Why Voting Matters

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Dave Bradley

hobnobbing with criminals?

Back in early 2016 Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died. When a Supreme Court Justice dies, the constitution says that the president shall appoint a replacement ‘with the advice and consent of the Senate.’ For most of us we would read that as a prescription of what is to be done. Not Chuck Grassley.

The timing of Scalia’s death was during a year of a presidential election. Because of the term limitation in the constitution, everybody understood that there would be a new president the next January. Yet most understood that that should not limit Obama’s powers to appoint a new Justice. It was in the constitution. But Chuck Grassley said ‘no.’

Grassley was backed by senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Neither intended to let Obama fill the empty seat. Thus Grassley went into a stall claiming there was no mandate for the senate to ‘advise and consent.’ Along the way Republicans made a lot of ridiculous claims, but there was no way to force their hand.

The gamble that Grassley took was that a Republican would win the White House in the presidential election and thus they would choose who would replace Scalia. Sadly, Grassley’s long shot bet paid off. The most unlikely candidate ever became president and with it came the power to fill the Scalia seat on the Supreme Court.

That appointment was Neil Gorsuch – a very ‘conservative’ or maybe better described as ‘anti-government’ justice. Gorsuch along with then current justices Roberts, Thomas, Alito and Kennedy kept the Court’s 5 to 4 ‘conservative’ slant with some occasional swing.

Then one more justice retired and another died and the unlikely president now had a chance make the Court solidly right wing with little to stop them from basically making policy from the bench. We have seen that solid 6 to 3 majority tear apart settled law from stem to stern in the past couple of years. From abortion to admissions policies they are looking to re-orient the country through judicial decisions.

At this point I must remind folks that Donald Trump lost the popular vote and only won the electoral college vote by a few votes in certain states such as Wisconsin. So if a few more people had voted for Clinton in states like Wisconsin we would not be staring down a Supreme Court that is hell bent on changing what is known as the regulatory state.

I was reminded of this while reading a story from Thom Hartmann concerning a case the Supreme Court (from here on in referred to as SCOTUS) decided last year and one that will be on the docket this fall. The object of these two cases is to disallow a regulating agency to make a rule on something unless congress specifically named that thing in the bill as something to be regulated.

That will make bills almost impossible to write if they need to specifically must name, for instance, every environmental pollutant, or every insect that must be covered by the endangered species act.

Thom led off his essay by noting regulatory agencies have been in the ‘conservative’s’ gun sight for a long time:

Among other things on the rightwing billionaire wish list: virtually the entirety of America’s ability to protect its citizens from corporate predation rests on what’s called the Chevron deference (more on that in a moment), which the Court appears prepared to overturn with a case they just accepted this year.

Declared Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he wants to eliminate the Department of Education “on day one” if he’s elected president. If the Supreme Court has its way, he wouldn’t have to bother. It’ll become impotent.

Far-right conservatives and libertarians have been working for this destruction of agencies — the ultimate in deregulation — ever since the first regulatory agencies came into being with the 1906 creation of the Pure Food and Drugs Act, a response to Upton Sinclair’s bestselling horror story published that year (The Jungle) about American slaughterhouses and meat-packing operations. {my bolding}

Hartmann then relates how regulatory agencies grew, including the story of Neil Gorsuch’s mother’s attempt to destroy the EPA from within, and how the regulating process should work. He also notes that without these agencies, government would probably come to a halt. 

Hartmann ends by discussing the West Virginia vs. EPA 2022 decision which gutted the what was known as the “Chevron deference.” Up to that point the Chevron deference had allowed regulatory agencies to regulate through what courts called a reasonable process.

Hartmann also notes that in the West Virginia vs. EPA case those voting to overturn regulating agencies all had some vested interest in seeing regulating overturned:

In addition to Gorsuch, the Court’s decision-makers in West Virginia v EPA included Amy Coney Barrett whose father was a lawyer for Shell Oil for decades, and John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh who are all on the Court in part because of support from a network funded by fossil fuel billionaires and their industry (among others).

So there you go – a presidential candidate wins because of small wins in enough states for him to win in the antiquated electoral college. He is then able to fill the seat on SCOTUS left by Antonin Scalia’s death and Chuck Grassley’s mockery of the constitution.

The new president appoint SCOTUS justices who are opposed to regulations and in 2022 cause great harm to the regulatory process. Coming up in 2023/2024 they have decided to hear a case – Loper Bright Enterprises v Gina Raimondo – that may serve as the bullet that kills regulation.

This will be coming at a time when the climate crisis is threatening life on earth – but we can do little about what the SCOTUS does.

Posted in #trumpresistance, 2016 Election Campaign, 2024 election, Charles Grassley, Climate Change, Hillary Clinton, Republican Policy, SCOTUS | Tagged , | 1 Comment

History Of A Wing Nut

Posted on August 25, 2023 by Paul Deaton
Mariannette Miller-Meeks at the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 13, 2010. Photo credit – Wikimedia Commons.

Can Democrat Christina Bohannan beat Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks during the second contest between them in 2024? One can only hope… and do everything possible to see that she does. Going into her sixth campaign for the Congress, Miller-Meeks has become a wing-nut institution. Iowans deserve better.

When Miller-Meeks first ran against Congressman Dave Loebsack in 2008 she got shellacked 57.2 percent to 35.4 percent. In 2010, Republicans regained lost ground in Iowa, yet Loebsack beat Miller-Meeks for the second time, 51.0 to 45.9 percent. In 2014, Miller-Meeks lost to Loebsack for the third time 52.5 to 47.4 percent. As many of us recall, when Dave Loebsack retired in 2020, Miller-Meeks beat Rita Hart by six votes. After decennial redistricting, she was re-elected in 2022, without moving into the district, defeating Christina Bohannan 53.4 to 46.6 percent. Iowa began turning deep red in 2010 and while it took Miller-Meeks a while to get going, she followed the trend.

I met Miller-Meeks at a 2008 parade in Johnson County. Costumed as a physician, she circulated among people along the parade route next to her “ambulance.” Good times. During one parade, I had a conversation with her about abortion, the constant conservative issue since Roe v. Wade was decided. “It’s settled law,’ she said. “So that is that,” I said to myself. We now know she jumped on the Dobbs bandwagon when it overturned Roe.

Where to begin with wing nut Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA01)? As a Member of Congress she has learned the double-speak of Washington politicians. These days it is hard to separate truth from hyperbole from outright misrepresentation. She didn’t always used to be this way.

When Terry Branstad was elected governor in 2010, he appointed Miller-Meeks as director of the Iowa Department of Public Health. I wrote a couple of posts after her appointment, including this paragraph:

Where Iowa’s public health is likely to suffer under a (Miller-Meeks) directorship is in developing an understanding of the relationship between Iowa’s agricultural and energy systems with public health. In “Iowa Coal & Health: A Preliminary Mapping Study” by McCue, Deaton, Nost and Rachow the authors point to inadequate collection of data in Iowa regarding adverse health events. While the IDPH does collect data used in the study, the quality of data was a constant source of criticism by geographers who collaborated on the project who were familiar with similar data in other states. It seems unlikely that MMM will invest in data collection improvements despite affirmation of support for the methods of scientific inquiry during her congressional campaign. At the same time, as a proponent of nuclear power to control toxic emissions from coal fired power plants and concentrated animal feeding operations in the state, she is expected to kick the ball down the road for the decades it would take to bring adequate megawatts of nuclear energy on line.

MMM and the Iowa Department of Public Health, Blog for Iowa, Dec. 11, 2010.

12 years later, my position was vindicated. Her views regarding energy in the Iowa economy haven’t changed but her messaging has.

In an Aug. 17 column in the Solon Economist, she bashed what she called “President Biden’s radical energy policies.”

For two years, Americans suffered the consequences of President Biden’s reckless and misguided energy policies. Low to middle-income hard-working families are bearing the brunt of Biden’s all-out war on domestic fuel production which led to record inflation, weakened our national security, and constrained American energy production. House Republicans passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, the first pro-energy permitting reform in 40 years, to empower our producers to deliver the affordable and reliable energy that our country needs to thrive.

Following through on our commitment to America by Mariannette Miller Meeks, The Solon Economist, Aug. 17, 2023.

Where to start with this paragraph of malarkey? In the first place, The U.S. House passed H.R. 1, The Lower Energy Costs Act with only four Democratic votes. It was hardly bipartisan. Perhaps the reason few Democrats voted for it is the bill fulfills a wish list for the fossil fuel industry, including the following:

The bill expedites the development, importation, and exportation of energy resources, including by

  • waiving environmental review requirements and other specified requirements under certain environmental laws,
  • eliminating certain restrictions on the import and export of oil and natural gas,
  • prohibiting the President from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing (a type of process used to extract underground energy resources),
  • directing the Department of the Interior to conduct sales for the leasing of oil and gas resources on federal lands and waters as specified by the bill, and
  • limiting the authority of the President and executive agencies to restrict or delay the development of energy on federal land.

In addition, the bill reduces royalties for oil and gas development on federal land and eliminates charges on methane emissions.

It also eliminates a variety of funds, such as funds for energy efficiency improvements in buildings as well as the greenhouse gas reduction fund.

H.R. 1 – 118th Congress 2023-2024.

Miller-Meeks would undo progress made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to support the fossil fuel industry. She would hobble efforts to produce the affordable, clean energy she purports to support.

Importantly, H.R. 1 went nowhere: It was not taken up by the Democratic U.S. Senate. It seems premature for Miller-Meeks to be doing a victory dance.

Miller-Meeks held a town hall meeting in Iowa City on Aug. 14. Tom Cook of Iowa City attended and had this report, published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette:

One can see how far out of touch Miller-Meeks is with Iowans by her description of the same event in her Aug. 20 newsletter to constituents.

I’m still waiting for her to listen to First District voters about energy policy. If she would listen, I’m skeptical of persuading her to break free from the influence of fossil fuel companies. She’s not listening to anyone but lobbyists in Washington D.C.

If you would like to help Christina Bohannan defeat this wing nut, sign up on the website located here.

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The Trouble With Issues

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Paul Deaton
Iowa State Capitol.

Like many of our readers, I traveled to Des Moines and Washington, D.C. to advocate for issues. I remember visiting Congressman Dave Loebsack in Washington, shortly after his 2006 election to the Congress with a list of a dozen issues to cover. It was quickly clear which issues most interested him. Because I had gotten to know him during his 2006 campaign, he patiently listened to them all.

Issues-based politics has become a bane to normal political life. People have issues. I have issues with most of them. The Aug. 17 People Over Politics Town Hall Meeting in Shueyville got a burr under my saddle over issues.

Iowa House Democrats surveyed the electorate and developed four issues which most voters, regardless of party affiliation, could support: lower costs for Iowans, supporting Iowa’s public schools, protecting reproductive freedom, and legalizing marijuana. The idea was to use these issues as a wedge to convince more voters to elect a Democrat in a conservative district. State Representatives Amy Nielsen and Elinor Levin did a good job of presenting the premise and walking us through the issues.

“What about water quality?” asked one attendee.

“What about climate change?” asked another.

“What about CO2 pipelines and eminent domain being used by private companies to secure right of way for them?” said someone else.

The representatives gave measured responses to each of these questions, explaining that water quality and climate change, as issues, don’t move voters. With CO2 pipelines and eminent domain issues, both parties are divided in the response. All are important to the future of Iowans. The important part, from my perspective, is moving voters to support a less conservative house or senate candidate. According to the survey, these issues are not particularly useful in doing that.

State Representative Chuck Isenhart asserted on X, “Not being on the list (of four) shouldn’t mean that we don’t talk about them at all.” I agree. I devoted much time in my life to addressing the climate crisis. As much as I want to both elect a Democrat to my house district, and solve the climate crisis, they are different types of endeavors. A basic characteristic of debate over issues is that when one talks about one issue, others are excluded. To win back conservative districts, we need to focus on parts of the Democratic agenda that have broader appeal.

There are multiple ways to cover issues with voters. In the best of circumstances, a canvasser can have a conversation with a voter that leads to a constructive discussion of more than the big four. One has to go beyond them to secure a commitment. If anything, the issues most Iowans can support will be an effective beginning place.

The trouble I have with issues that surfaced in Shueyville is some of the activists lost perspective of a larger strategy. If one comes to politics only when we want something, that is, as a single issue voter, we haven’t differentiated ourselves from many Republicans. We need to win some seats currently held by Republicans. To do that we need to find and focus on common ground that exists, like those four issues the House Democrats identified.

In my experience, abortion is a tough one for compromise. People hold strong positions for or against access to abortion. While the survey shows more than half of Iowans liked the protections of Roe Vs. Wade, for many voters supporting reproductive rights is a deal breaker. Once those voters are identified, it’s time to shut the conversation down, make a note, and move on to the next contact. Single issue voters are unlikely to yield.

A person can get tired of their issues not being addressed by government. Waiting for action is never good. That will continue for Democrats as long as Republicans hold the trifecta. House Democrats are offering a potential path forward.

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